North American Urban Ecology Centres

Here's a starter list of urban ecology centres: some are run by the city, some are non-profits, some are research centres.  Some implement public education programs, some run environmental remediation programs and other are studying (with the help of students or citizen volunteers) urban ecological issues.  Share with me others that you know of!

CANADA:

Montreal Urban Ecology Centre
http://www.ecologieurbaine.net/en/

"Projects include the Green, Active and Healthy Neighbourhoods where the organization’s expertise grew to include greening, urban agriculture, planning, active transportation and participatory democracy.  Today, the MUEC has expanded its scope of activity to other municipalities in the provinces of Quebec, Ontario and Alberta. It remains, however, true to its approach and scope of action: citizens and their neighbourhoods." (from the MUEC website)


Humber College’s Urban Ecology Centre
http://humberarboretum.on.ca/humberandthearb.php

"The Humber Arboretum is a joint venture of the City of Toronto, Humber College and Toronto and Region Conservation. The park includes trails and boardwalks through gardens, forests, meadows and wetlands. The Centre for Urban Ecology provides a first-rate venue for education and research on urban ecology and an up-to-date example of environmental sustainability. The Centre for Urban Ecology teachs by example how we all can help work towards a healthy sustainable environment in our own urban spaces." (from the Centre's website)


John Janzen Nature Centre (City of Edmonton)
http://www.edmonton.ca/attractions_events/john-janzen-nature-centre.aspx

 Run by the City of Edmonton:
"A gateway to the heart of Edmonton’s River Valley, the John Janzen Nature Centre takes visitors for a walk on the wild side with programs, events and interactive exhibits designed to promote awareness and engagement with nature in an urban setting." (from the website)


Institute of Urban Ecology (Douglas College, Vancouver)
http://www.douglascollege.ca/programs-courses/faculties/science-technology/institute-of-urban-ecology

"IUE has been involved in a myriad of community-based activities and projects. These projects include: an environmental outreach and education program that reaches about 2000 participants in schools and community organizations in Metro Vancouver each year; working with the Britannia Food Garden Project; and giving input to a number of local and regional initiatives related to ecology and development, such as the Metro Vancouver Biodiversity Conservation Strategy. The IUE also undertakes a variety of research projects related to urban sustainability issues. Recent and current projects include: Urban Bug Gardens, which examined beneficial insects in a community garden and the Delta Migratory Bird Study, which looked at the impact of various land uses on migratory bird foraging behaviours." (from their website)



UNITED STATES:

Urban Green Spaces (Portland)
http://www.urbangreenspaces.org 

"Motto: In Livable Cities is Preservation of the Wild

Mission: To ensure that parks, regional trail systems, greenways and greenspaces are integrated with the built environment in the Portland-Vancouver metropolitan region, and to promote urban greenspace efforts nationally and internationally." (from website)


Urban Ecology Center (Milwaukee)
http://www.urbanecologycenter.org

"The Urban Ecology Center provides year-round educational programs for kids, families and adults of all ages. The cornerstone program is the Neighborhood Environmental Education Project serving kids in 55 urban Milwaukee schools each year. This program enables students to get to walk in the woods, stand in a river in hip waders or run along the beach at Lake Michigan when they might have no other opportunities to do so." (from website)


Urban Ecology Institute (Cambridge)
http://urbanecologyinst.blogspot.ca/

"The Urban Ecology Institute (UEI) was started in 1998 teaming up community and educational partners to improve the health of urban ecosystems through environmental education, action, and advocacy programs. Their programs reached more than 30,000 people each year throughout Massachusetts and beyond. UEI's core programs harnessed the potential of young people and the power of citizen groups to create physical and social transformations in the midst of neglected communities." (from their website)


Boston Metro Ecological Research (University of Massachusetts at Amherst)
http://www.umass.edu/urbaneco/index.html

"Exploring past, current and future socio-ecological dynamics in a founding city - We are a collaborative, multi-disciplinary team of ecologists and social scientists at several universities and the USDA Forest Service Northern Research Station and partnered with the City of Boston." (from their website)


Wild Metro (New York City)
http://www.wildmetro.org/

"WildMetro, a non-profit organization aims to protect wildlife in natural areas within and around New York City. The organization advocates a sensible balance of development and nature protection in urban regions and promotes intelligent management of resources. It also works to involve communities in the protection of nature by offering various programs such as an after-school nature program and an ecological field techniques course." (from their website)


EcoCity Builders (California)
http://www.ecocitybuilders.org/

"Ecocity Builders reshapes cities for the long-term health of human and natural systems. We develop and implement policy, design and educational tools and strategies to build thriving urban centers based on “access by proximity” and to reverse patterns of sprawl and excessive consumption." (from their website)


Centre for Urban Resilience (Los Angeles)
http://cures.lmu.edu/

"CURes works with faculty, staff, students and community members to develop research and other interventions that lead to more resilient and just communities. Our goal is to pair the study of urban ecology with local issues that can benefit from the talents and resources at LMU. We support a variety of projects ranging from science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) teacher professional development; urban biosocial research; graduate education; restorative justice; and regional climate change initiatives." (from CUR website)


P.S. I also wrote about Debs Park in Los Angeles which is another great example of an urban ecology centre!

*Image above of Milwaukee Riverside Park Centre (from website)

Update on Guelph's Pollinator Park (decommissioned Eastview Landfill site)

I first blogged about this Pollinator Park project in 2012!  Glad to see that it continues to expand!

From the website (Pollination Guelph Planting Sites):

(The) pollinator habitat (is) on the 45ha (112 acre) decommissioned Eastview Landfill site. (It) will be one of the first and largest pollinator initiatives to occur in Ontario, Canada, and internationally. It will also highlight the City of Guelph's commitment to being a leader in environmental initiatives.

The Pollinator Park is a long-term, multi-stage project. Work began in the fall of 2012 and the first hectare was seeded in Fall 2013. We plan to seed another two hectares in Fall 2014 and if we can raise the funds, add two hectares a year in future years.

A bee hotel was added in June 2014 through the "Wild for Bees" initiative, which Pollination Guelph was a site partner in. This initiative is sponsored by Burt's Bees, Sustainable.TO, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, and Pollinator Partnership Canada.

The park borders Speedvale Ave, Watson Road, Eastview Rd

From Guelph Mercury article (written by Chris Seto):

(The) project had to use the herbicide Roundup to get rid of the fescue grass, a species planted to help prevent soil erosion on the mound.

The Eastview Landfill was decommissioned in 2003 after collecting the city's garbage since 1961. For the past 10 years it sat empty, gathering various weeds and invasive plant species. Some flowering species grew out of its clay, rocky soil, but the field hasn't been much of a hot spot for wildlife.

Since 2009, Pollination Guelph has had its eye on this open space as a potential haven for bees, butterflies, birds and native plant species, but it needed to raise enough funds to be able to act on its plan. This year, the charitable organization reached its goal of raising $15,000 – the amount it cost to prep and seed one hectare of land – and was able to sow the seeds of a variety of native species.

These species include coneflowers, black-eyed Susans, milkweeds, Indian grass and several others. The first flowers are expected to appear in the fall, with the majority of the bloom occurring in 2015.

The site will have to be monitored and mowed every couple of years to ensure it isn't overrun by invasive species.  (Burning isn't an option above the methane gas producing landfill.)

Elaine Williams, executive director of Wildlife Preservation Canada, said her organization joined up with Pollination Guelph earlier this year. She hopes the pollination park will become a healthy sanctuary for various species at risk, including the meadowlark and the bobolink bird. She said once the park is more established, it may even be a good place to reintroduce the endangered rusty patch bumblebee.

P.S. Check out my latest "urban wild" nature blog: Wild. Here. (2016 update)

Tall Grass Prairie (Hamilton)

Just read about a tall grass prairie project at McMaster University.

It will be part of the university's research and teaching facility in Hamilton - just five kilometres southwest of the campus.  It's a fifty hectare site known as McMaster Forest and the intention is to rehabilitate into a conservation corridor with different ecosystems (meadow, wetland, forest).

The tall grass prairie will be 4 hectares and 20 hectares will be a forest set up as a Smithsonian tree plot. The students and teachers were clearing Buckthorn last fall and into the winter and will be removing invasive grasses early spring before planting.

Images are of Common red soldier beetle (Rhagonycha fulva) on Common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) inflorescence and Canada Thistle (Cirsium arvense), Fritillary butterfly (Boloria sp.) feeding on Wild bergamot (Monarda fistulosa).

Images by: Sebastian Irazuzta

Cornwall Eco Gardens

Did you know that Cornwall has an Eco-Garden? It can be found in the middle of Lamoureux Park and includes a small creek. It was built in 1997 and attracts many fish, birds and amphibians. The creek is key for spawning chinook salmon and the alternating shallow riffle areas and deeper pools have provided a home for cutlip minnow (which requires clear, silt-free streams to thrive).

The article goes on to say that smaller streams and creeks have improved in gaining back nutrients for the larger river, but more work still needs to be done. Rock reefs have been built along the river to create protected areas for fish to forage and nurse. The article also lists three areas where work is still continuing on the remedial action plan: contaminant levels in fish, decreases in levels of nutrients in smaller rivers and creeks, and fish and wildlife habitat, in particular coastal wetlands.

 More info here: Cornwall Standard-Freeholder Image from Standard Freeholder.

The biodiversity of an urban lot (Montreal)

Always wondered what you can find in an urban lot?  Never thought much of it, perhaps you think there's just some grass, wildflowers and a couple of urban creatures like crows and pigeons?  Well the Field of Possibilities did a tally of what could be found in their urban lot and you will be amazed: 

Champs Des Possibles: A - Z

Image from Flora Urbana Blogspot

p.s. Link to Les Amis du Champ des Possibles

Urban Bee Condos (Vancouver)

Pollinators Paradise (from the website): With over 150 volunteer 'bee stewards', the project has established 150 mason bee homes and nectar-rich plantings across the City of Vancouver. Volunteers have agreed to maintain and monitor the condos for two years, reporting in on a monthly basis on bee habitation and activity. They have also agreed to not use pesticides in their garden. Funded by Environment Canada's EcoAction Community Funding Program, TD Friends of the Environment Foundation, Canadian Wildlife Federation, and the Vancouver Foundation, the program will run until October 2010.

We have chosen to focus our attention on the Blue Orchard Mason Bee (Osmia lignaria), a native bee species that can be used effectively in educational campaigns. They are non-aggressive, propagate easily and are extremely effective pollinators, particularly of apples, cherries, and pears.

Urban gardens are a great way to restore habitat, and as a response to this, the Environmental Youth Alliance's is working with the community to, in some small way, help create new habitat for pollinators that is essential to keeping plant communities diverse and productive.

Even some "super lodges" for the mason bees were installed at the following public locations: Stanley Park (Rose Garden Pagoda), Everett Crowley Park (Great Pyramids), Jericho Park (Yaletown) - 53 public condos in total.

For more info:
Vancouver Foundation Article: Condo market for bees is buzzing

Vancouver Sun Article: Bee Condos Placed in City Parks

Britannia (Vancouver) Neighborhood News "Condo Installed in Napier Square Greenway"

Mason Bee Condo Picture and Mason Bee Sign Picture from Vancouver is Awesome Blog

Lost River Walks (Toronto)

Great initiative in Toronto by the Toronto Field Naturalists and the Toronto Green Community:

The objective of Lost River Walks is to encourage understanding of the city as a part of nature rather than apart from it, and to appreciate and cherish our heritage. Lost River Walks aims to create an appreciation of the city's intimate connection to its water systems by tracing the courses of forgotten streams, by learning about our natural and built heritage and by sharing this information with others.

The Toronto Green Community started Lost River Walks to help us discover the fascinating world of the watershed beneath our feet. This site is the start of a field book on the lost streams of Toronto. Bits of our city's history, both natural and built, are included. Those interested can take a virtual lost creeks walk, or better, use the information to take a self-guided tour. Come explore nature hidden under our city and along its ravines and byways.

The next walk is scheduled for April 15th (as part of the Thirsty City Walks) - this Sunday - so check them out!

the birds and the bees (Guelph)

Guelph is creating the first Pollinator Park in Canada. It is located on the grounds of the old Eastview Landfill site.

From the City of Guelph website: The former landfill site is north-west of Eastview Rd and Watson Pkwy N. where 45 of the total 81 hectares had been land-filled. The plan includes a pollinators park and preservation of wetlands, and sports fields on the non land-filled portions of the site.
They have implemented a 1.5 hectare demonstration project to test and monitor this proposal (as there are many constraints with landfill sites). And the City of Gatineau and Fleurir Gatineau might be considering creating a similar initiative in the capital city.

If you want to know how this initiative got started, there is a powerpoint presentation (in pdf) online at the University of Guelph's website. They were one of the initial funders of the proposal. In it they discuss how important it is to have a Champion at the City level and for this project Guelph City Councillor Vicki Beard was that "powerful proponent".

ICLEI Canada has a great summary of this project as one of their Case Studies in the Cities and Biodiversity Series found here: ICLEI LAB.

2015 update on this Guelph project here.

more swift towers... (Toronto)

"The Chaetura pelagica or Chimney Swift is a long distance migrant bird that winters in Peru. In 2006 they were listed as a threatened species, but now, with the help of conservation efforts have returned..."

*Image is of Rouge Park's chimney swift habitat project at 16th Avenue and Reesor Road, Markham (Photo: Garett Walker)


Two other Chimney Swift Tower Projects in Ontario:

- in the Kawartha Lakes Region: Swift Response (The Peterborough Examiner)
- in the Niagara Region (Fort Erie): When Nature Calls (Niagara This Week)


Other Posts on Chimney Swifts:

All about Chimney Swift Towers and the Birds (2011)
Chimney Swift population decline is not due to lost habitat - 2012 Ontario Study (2016)

Roerich Garden Project (Montreal)

"Emily Rose Michaud is an interdisciplinary artist working at the intersections of community development, civic participation, performance, and land art. In recent years, her experimental and socially driven practice has resulted in a series of performances incorporating living ‘sproutfits’ and tapestries, a guerilla gardener’s ensemble, an electronic book designed to be reproduced and remixed by others (roerichproject.artefati.ca) and the Roerich Garden Project – a three-year land art project in a post-industrial railyard turned urban meadow.

She is also part of Sprout Out Loud! which is an on-growing gardener's ensemble that seeks to support and develop the relationship between residents and the land around them. This project seeks to:
- Engage with the meadow creatively and document how people use and care about this space
- Valorize this living space before it is forgotten in silence
- Draw attention to the city's plans and provoke dialogue
- Reclaim the commons, activate unused urban spaces, re-enchant the public with the natural world and living systems of the urban core
- Invite others to plant similar ideas in their own environments where needed"

You can find out more about her activities here: Pousses Blog

Green Alleys... je t'aime! (Montreal)

Reading about this made my day! I love the Promenade Plantée in Paris and want to explore the High Line in NYC and now these Green Alleys in Montreal! Great idea!

Montreal boroughs build green alleys
- Flowers, trees to help make areas more appealing (CBC Article - July 2011)

The Montreal borough of Mercier-Hochelaga-Maisonneuve is working on making its alleyways a friendlier place to be — both for local residents and the environment.

The neighbourhood, located in the east end of the city, said Wednesday that it would invest $20,000 to plant flowers and trees in four alleys this year.

Borough mayor Réal Ménard said the initiative is designed to make the areas more inviting to the public, creating spaces for people to sit and relax.

"It's a gathering event for [people]," he said.

The increase in foot traffic will also discourage criminals and drug users because they will be unwilling to break laws in the presence of other citizens, Ménard said.

With the addition of four new green alleyways, the borough will have a total of eight. The project was started in 2010 and Ménard said more are planned for next year.

Although the project — which started in 2010 — is organized by the Maisonneuve Longue Pointe Eco-Centre, volunteers actually do the landscaping.

"They're the ones who are going to build the boxes that the flowers are going to be in," said Anne Gosselin from the centre. "They're going to be planting trees, They're going to paint the streets."

Gosselin said the alleys have been a success and help to mitigate heat coming from the asphalt.

"They offer a nice place for people to spend time," she said.

And it is residents who get to decide which alleys will be greened, Gosselin said.

Mercier-Hochelaga-Maisonneuve isn't the only neighbourhood looking to make its thoroughfares a nicer place to be.

On July 6, the nearby borough of Plateau-Mont-Royal, also said it would invest $137,000 to build five eco- and citizen-friendly alleyways.

There are similar initiatives throughout Montreal, and a total of 100 streets have been transformed into green space.

Frommers Link: How To See Montreal on Two Wheels

Chimney Swift Towers (Winnipeg)

Some very interesting projects to help establish new habitat for chimney swifts:

Stevens Point Sculpture Park - Stevens Point, Wisconsin

The Stevens Point Sculpture Park is working in partnership with the Aldo Leopold Audobon Society to develop and install two or more sculptural objects that can function as chimney swift nesting towers.

Call for Entries - Sculptural Chimney Swift Habitat


Nature Manitoba - Chimney Swift Program - Winnipeg and Surrounding Area

From 2006 to 2011, the Manitoba Chimney Swift Initiative received funding from the Manitoba government’s Sustainable Development Innovations Fund (SDIF) and from Environment Canada’s EcoAction Community Funding program. The project has also received support from Manitoba Hydro and other institutions.

In 2008, swift towers were erected in Starbuck, St. Adolphe, Portage la Prairie, and Winnipeg. In addition to watching these sites, the group continues to identify and monitor roosting and nest sites around the province.

Link to: Chimney Swift Program


Other Great Resources (online & hardcopy):

- Chimney Swift Towers: New Habitat for America's Mysterious Birds by Paul Kyle
- Online website for Chimney Swift Research and Info: Chimney Swift Org
- Ottawa Stewardship Council - Chimney Swift Monitoring Report
- Nature London's Swift Fact Sheet - 30 pages (pdf format)





Other Posts about Chimney Swifts:

Chimney Swift Tower in Toronto (2011)
Chimney Swift population decline is not due to lost habitat - 2012 Ontario Study (2016)


Other Urban Bird Posts:

- Barred Owl Visit to Parklette in Toronto (2014)

- Urban Bobolink in Ottawa (2012)

- The Pigeon Paradox (2012)

- Purple Martin Nesting (2011)

- Roosting Crows in Ottawa (2011)

Naturalization Garden in Toronto